Maxima Synthetic Chain Guard

What it is

Maxima Synthetic Chain Guard is an advanced chain lubricant specifically formulated for motorcycle chains. It uses a synthetic lubricant base with anti-wear and pressure additives that Maxima believes are superior to any other chain treatment. It also contains special additives to prevent and protect against rust & corrosion as well as keeping the lube adhered to the chain. Chain Guard is O-ring safe and is also claimed to be an excellent lubricant for all motorcycle control cables. It is available in 6 and 14-ounce can sizes in aerosol spray and retails for $7.50 and $11.50 respectively.

How it works

We won’t go as far as to say chain lube has as a religious following as two-stroke oil, but in the field you can get some pretty dedicated views on the subject. For some reason we don’t feel the chain needs as much respect as the piston and rings but they both help keep you going. The chain’s job is much more easily visualised. And it lives a dirty life in our world.

At DBT we pride ourselves on doing long-term and semi-scientific testing. We may not have a controlled laboratory setting but we do the best we can to have a real-world laboratory nonetheless. With access to a fleet of rental bikes and a wide variety of test riders using dirt bikes for all sorts of uses, we regularly put stuff into testing without knowing we are “testing” it. Maxima supplied products for some of our long-term bikes and we started keeping track of wear on similar parts using different methods of lubrication. The first and most obvious standout result was with chains and sprockets.

Simply put, Maxima’s Chain Guard is a first class product that does everything it claims. From the simple things that might go unnoticed--like the spray power from the can along with the quantity delivered. To the foaming action of the lube and its stick and penetration into the chain. Our impression is that Chain Guard is one of the best. It has a very controlled flow and it spreads onto the chain without needing to be over applied. The chemical prevents corrosion even in very harsh soils and repels moisture as good as anything we have used. It sticks to the chain and does not do too much of the “oil stringers” that end up leaving lube on your swingarm if you don’t let the bike sit after lubing.

Our protocol for lubing chains is right after a ride when the chain is still warm. This will also have a coat of lube on the chain before the bike is washed to help keep water out. Here you can see the water bead up on the chain verifying the lube is working. It also allows lubing of the O-rings so they don’t degrade. On non-O-ring chains the lube works its way under the roller surfaces as good as anything and it semi-dries in place which we verified by breaking a chain apart after a lube--this will also help keep water out. Once dried the lube doesn't fling off and there is minimal attraction of dirt. Over application will produce a gummy coating to the chain but that isn’t the products fault. Maxima makes a chain cleaner product for those that tend to over apply. We never felt the lube attracted enough dust or dirt to be of a concern and it seems to "wear off" a little slower than most we have tried. 

Though we never felt ripped off or too confused, the published size of the can and the contents numbers on the side of the can never seemed to match up. Blame world-wide distribution and maybe the metric system or something. There is the big can and the little can. And prices will vary depending on where you find it, regardless it is a fair value even at full retail. Plus since it does not take as much lube to get the job done, the can lasts a lot longer than we would have expected.

So here is where we state the obvious and some other things we learned. A standard production chain that was not lubed lasted about half the lifespan of one that was lubed regularly. The lube brand did not make a noticeable difference (we were using a few.) In very close inspection you could not see any standout differences in any of lubed the chains in wear. Some allowed a little more corrosion on a chain left out in the weather, the Maxima zone was minimal. It should also be noted that on a rusted chain, the Synthetic Chain Guard cleaned up the chain way better than expected. So what it came down to was application and durability of the lube once on the chain and Maxima was one of the best.